How to celebrate the Lunar New Year 2023 in London
Looking to commemorate the Lunar New Year? London is offering a host of colourful, educational and tasty ways to celebrate
Cheer on the Chinese New Year parade
The Lunar New Year celebrations in London’s West End are the biggest outside Asia. Ordinarily, festivities begin with the Chinese New Year parade, a colourful whirlwind of dragon and lion dances that makes its way from Charing Cross Road into Chinatown. Crowds then head down to Trafalgar Square where a thanksgiving ceremony, followed by firecrackers, speeches, the Lions’ Eye-Dotting Ceremony and eventually a pyrotechnic display keep the celebrations alive well into the evening. Meanwhile, stalls serving Chinese street food line the square refuelling peckish revellers.
While the exact date of the parade is yet to be announced, it's expected to be a colourful, live event this year, following last year's online celebrations.
Tuck into Lunar New Year specialities
An appetising access point to Lunar New Year is, of course, the cuisine. London has no shortage of world-class options, with Chinatown the epicentre of authentic, East Asian dining. It can be a minefield to navigate though, if you don't know your char siu bao from your cheung fun, so here are some suggestions.
A whole fish is a symbol of prosperity and typically forms the centrepiece of the Lunar New Year dinner. At Jin Li and Lotus Garden, you can tuck into a whole steamed seabass, seasoned traditionally with ginger and spring onions. Also considered prosperous in East Asian culture is the humble chicken, and diners at Orient London can feast on a whole emperor chicken this festive period.
According to a fondly believed legend, the more dumplings you eat during New Year celebrations, the more money you'll make that lunar year. Jiaozi dumplings, crescent-shaped savoury parcels that can be boiled or steamed, are considered especially lucky. You'll find a decent selection with a range of tasty fillings at both Jen Café and Dumplings Legend.
Further afield, Michelin Guide restaurant MiMi Mei Fair (pictured) has caught our attention again this year, with its feasting menu (13 January – 5 February) and magic tree installation – a collaboration between founder and restauranteur Samyukta Nair and luxury florist Lucy Vail. Doing away with last year's vibrant red, the tree has been decorated in the lucky colours of the Year of the Rabbit, with purple hydrangeas and blue pimpernel. Beneath the tree's hopeful branches, diners can tuck into a refined menu, with highlights including a 'basket of wealth' (in the form of dim sum); a sharing dish of wok-baked lobster; 'fortune' crispy Norfolk pork; and a dessert of 'baiju ba ba' (rum baba), served with Cantonese kumquat and green cardamom.
Cantonese-style steamed bun specialist Bun House is also marking the new year, launching a trio of limited-edition buns plus a traditional rice cake dessert, Nin Gou. The buns look the part, with one resembling a bunny with a fluffy white tail, while the dessert, made with brown sugar and coconut, is believed to bring good luck and fortune for the year ahead.
Celebrate the Year of the Rabbit at the National Maritime Museum
For over 20 years, Lunar New Year has been marked with fanfare at Greenwich's National Maritime Museum. Visitors of all ages are invited to take a seat around its Great Map and look forward to a ream of colourful performances as well as workshops, talks and tours. From lantern-making to learning the ropes of popular game mahjong and meeting the dancing lion, there’s a host of activities to get involved with. Those who prefer to be passive spectators, meanwhile, can listen in on talks about Chinese astronomy, watch a mindful tea ceremony demonstration and learn about the struggles of the tea trade between Britain and China.
This year, the nearby Old Royal Naval College (ORNC) is getting involved too, with an after-dark light show illuminating the exterior of the building from 5.30pm until 8.30pm, and a special late opening of its Museum of the Moon installation, designed by Luke Jerram.
Photo: Royal Museums Greenwich
Immerse yourself in a digital tour of Chinatown
Conceived by British-Chinese organisation Chinese Arts Now, Augmented Chinatown is an app offering visitors a tour through the streets of Chinatown, led by artist Donald Shek.
Through combining video installation and digital sculptures with facts and anecdotes, Shek explains the history of the area, exploring themes of identity, cultural symbolism and myth. Spanning the creation of its buildings with Chinese mythology in mind, to its role in the Chinese community today, Augmented Chinatown is a thorough exploration of the area’s past, present and future. The tour is available via the iPhone app.
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